‘Lonely & brutal’: Anaya opens up on trans journey as CA clears path back to cricket

NEW DELHI: For Anaya Bangar, the prospect of returning to competitive cricket is about much more than stepping back onto a field. It represents the culmination of a lonely and emotionally difficult journey that began when she started her transition in 2022.Now on the cusp of reclaiming her cricketing life, the 25-year-old trans athlete says Cricket Australia’s decision to provide her a pathway into women’s cricket is a moment she once thought might never arrive.“It’s been lonely, it’s been brutal, but it’s also been worth it,” Anaya told PTI.Her journey eventually culminated in gender-affirming surgery in March this year. In June, she approached Cricket Australia’s Head of Integrity Jacqui Partridge after learning about the governing body’s policy for transgender and gender-diverse players.